Yes, the tag's nonexclusive nature allows other teams to bid for Graham's talent in free agency. But the cost would be absurd -- two first-round draft picks in addition to a contract rich enough to scare off the Saints.

It's hard to imagine a team willing to gamble on its future for the reward of a tight end, but perhaps Graham is special enough to warrant an exception.

"I think the only players more valuable than Jimmy Graham are three or four quarterbacks," one AFC general manager told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report. "That's it."

According to Freeman, "word is beginning to leak" throughout the NFL that at least one team will make a play at obtaining Graham, pricetag be damned.

The Green Bay Packers -- who are very realistically in the market for a tight end -- are unlikely to emerge as a potential suitor. A Packers official told Freeman the idea of giving up that much for a tight end was "dumb, beyond dumb ... won't happen."

You have to think the Packers are far from alone in that sentiment, regardless of how productive Graham has been in his brief career. Still, the Saints have left the door open a crack.